At least 5 killed in election clashes in Turkey

ISTANBUL, Turkey At least five people were killed and dozens more wounded in clashes as municipal elections were held across Turkey.arly election results suggested the ruling political party, led by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, won the overall election as predicted. However, Erdogan's Justice and Development Party, or AKP, appeared to have slipped several percentage points, compared to its landslide victory in 2007 parliamentary elections.The preliminary results suggest the AKP lost some ground to an Islamist party and a Kurdish nationalist party.More than 90,000 positions are up for grabs Sunday, from the mayor of Turkey's largest city, Istanbul, which has a population of more than 12 million, to the muhtar, or headman, of the smallest Anatolian village.The election is widely seen as a referendum on the AKP. Erdogan's party has been in power since it captured a majority of seats in parliamentary elections in 2002.